female troops suing the pentagon to try to get into combat. welcome back to "early start," i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm christine romans in for john berman today. it's about 31 minutes past the hour. >> so imagine, christine, having a bank account that ends with eight zeros. 500 million dollars. that is tonight's record-shattering powerball jackpot and it is expected to climb even higher. millions of americans in 42 states trying to parlay two bucks into a life-changing fortune. alison kosik is live from times square this morning. alison, 60% of ticket sales are expected to be head today. share with us the odds of winning, if you must. >> you know what's interesting? you talk about 60% of ticket sales happening today. one happening right next to me. rick is buying how many tickets? >> i bought five more. >> so that means you already have how many? >> we now have 20. >> but what are the chances you're going to win? you think you're going to win? >> i do not. i don't have a chance in the world. >> then why buy them? >> it's all about the hype. >